Endometriosis Specialists, Patients Come Together to Share Support and Experience

To commemorate Endometriosis Awareness Month, Baylor College of Medicine will host a special documentary screening of “Below the belt“.

This documentary will be followed by a panel discussion with experts.

The documentary focuses on how many women suffer from this painful disease. Some statistics say that one in 10 women suffers from this disease; others say it is even more common (one in nine).

However, many women feel that they are too often misdiagnosed and do not have the proper insurance to get the treatment they need.

“It definitely derailed my career,” said Alison Landolt, who first experienced symptoms at 13. “Like someone pours battery acid inside me.”

However, her story is similar to that of other women with endometriosis because she says she was not believed, misdiagnosed, and not given proper surgery until she had a crisis years later.

“I had to have emergency surgery before my fallopian tubes ruptured. That’s how I was diagnosed. It was sort of by accident, and I was told, “You must have had a venereal disease, you must have pelvic inflammatory disease”… basically, “it’s your fault,” Landolt said.

She eventually found out the truth when she visited Dr. Xiaoming Guan, director of minimally invasive gynecological surgery at the Texas Women’s Children’s Pavilion and a professor at Baylor College of Medicine.

He sympathizes with the years of pain his patients have endured.

“Many patients are operated on by other doctors and they say, ‘Oh, you don’t have endometriosis in your pelvis,’” Dr. Guang said. “So they come to me and we see it everywhere!”

Endometriosis is a complex disease in which cells similar to the lining of the uterus are found elsewhere in the body, causing pain, inflammation, and organ dysfunction. Landolt said it was time to stop stigmatizing the disease.

“So, most of the disease is associated with painful menstruation. People tend to think of it as a female problem, just a uterine problem, just a menstrual problem,” she explained. “People with endometriosis are really doing a disservice if they just focus on ‘Ugh, that’s just a terrible period.’

Fortunately, she has found many women who support her because they share the same feelings.

On Saturday, they get together with a panel of experts to review “Below the Belt”.

“We will have a psychiatrist, basic scientific research, physical therapy and our minimally invasive team. They are coming together to provide information and discuss endometriosis,” Dr. Guan said.

Directed by Shannon Cohn, the film will screen on Saturday, March 4 from 1 pm to 3 pm at Baylor College of Medicine’s Cullen Auditorium (1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030).

Tickets cost 15 dollars.

Book your seat here.